{"id":784,"date":"2008-04-06T00:47:48","date_gmt":"2008-04-05T15:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-04-06\/784"},"modified":"2008-04-06T00:47:48","modified_gmt":"2008-04-05T15:47:48","slug":"kyoto-cherry-blossom-lightup-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-04-06\/784","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto Cherry-Blossom Lightup, 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nMain Gate of the Heian Shrine, at Dusk<\/span>\nWith Cherry Blossoms\n<\/div>\n\n

As I mentioned earlier today, full bloom has finally hit Kyoto<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Having recently read photographer Rick Lee's blog post When\nis dusk dusky enough?<\/a> about how actually shooting a “night” shot at\ndusk can make use of a bit<\/span> of remaining skylight to balance the harsh\nartificial lights, it reminded me of the lessons from Strobist's classic How\nto Photograph Christmas Lights<\/a>, and made me want to try it with the\ncherry-blossom lightup that's going on in my area during the evenings this\nweek.<\/p>\n\n

I brought my D200, tripod, remote shutter release, Nikkor 17<\/span>-55mm f\/2.8<\/a>, and\nNikkor 85mm f\/1.4 across the street to the edge of the canal and set up\nshop. I was there<\/span> from about 6:30pm, 10 minutes after sunset when it was\nstarting to get noticeably dark, and stayed for an hour. The first<\/span> test shot\nI took<\/span> appears above.<\/p>\n\n

That was toward the north, where the sky was darker than toward the\nwest, where the next shot aims...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 4 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nNot Too Realistic<\/span>\n( but that's okay, because it's not too pretty, either )\n<\/div>\n\n

Different types of lighting make for a huge<\/span> color-balance<\/a> mess in this\nshot. All of the<\/span> blossoms visible here are of the same white variety; the\nblossoms behind the couple are not lime green, the ones over the left side\nof the bank don't have a magenta<\/span> tinge, and the ones along the far bank\ndidn't really look like they were glowing at 5,000°F. (For what it's\nworth, that last set appear that way in this photo because they were\nlighted by something that was<\/i> indeed glowing at 5,000°F, the\nfilaments in the incandescent floodlamps set up for the event. Our eyes compensate<\/span> for the orange light, but the camera doesn't.... but I\ndigress.<\/span>)<\/p>\n\n

Lightroom 2.0<\/span> (beta)<\/a>\nhas the ability to selectively adjust areas with different develop settings\n(exposure, saturation, etc.), and this picture is a perfect<\/span> example of why\nwhite balance should be included in that list. I've been lobbying for it,\nbut to no avail (so far?). I prepared<\/span> these with Lightroom 1.3.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

(UPDATE: oops, it turns out that the lime-green blossoms were from a\ndifferent<\/span> variety of tree whose blossoms were indeed white, but, unlike all\nthe other trees in the scene, already had their green leaves. There's\ncertainly some odd color due to the streetlight just out of frame, but the\ngreen is not entirely due to color-balance issues as I originally<\/span>\nthought.)<\/p>\n\n\n

By the way, kudos to the couple for standing still for me for the\nfour-second exposure. I think<\/span> she was trying to teach him how to use his\npoint-n-shoot.<\/p>\n\n

Here's a shot that I've color-corrected to match what I remember<\/span> actually seeing,\nwhile it was still fairly bright at 6:35pm....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 4 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nSorta Pretty, but Lacks Oomph<\/span>\n( it was still not quite dark enough )\n<\/div>\n\n

Five minutes later, I made this<\/span> 30-second exposure of the bridge (from\nthe Snowy Bridge in\nKyoto<\/a> post) toward the east. The later<\/span> time and the darker direction\nmake for a bit<\/span> more “oomph”, but it's still not there yet....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 30 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nPulse of the Crowd<\/span>\n( the photographer on the left apparently didn't move for the whole 30 seconds! )\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Finally, at 6:47pm, I think<\/span> the lighting made for some nice “oomph”...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 3 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nNow That's<\/i> What I'm Talking About<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I think the green willow (featured in this post<\/a> last week), and\nthe sky, really make this shot.<\/p>\n\n

I'm just starting to get the hang of this, I think.<\/span> You can compare<\/span> these results with the progression of earlier night long-exposure posts...<\/p>\n\n\n
Spring 2006<\/td>\n· Long Night Exposures and Cherry Blossoms<\/a>\n<\/td><\/tr>\n\n
Spring 2007<\/td>\n· Nighttime Long-Exposure Cherry Blossoms<\/a>\n· Night Long-Exposure Gion Cherry Blossoms<\/a>\n· Easter Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto<\/a>\n<\/td><\/tr>\n\n
Fall 2007<\/td>\n· Back from Miyajima<\/a>\n· Main Gate of the Itsukushima Shrine, at Night<\/a>\n· Miyajima: Approach, Path, and Gates<\/a>\n· Five-Storied Pagoda on Miyajima<\/a>\n<\/td><\/tr>\n\n
Spring 2008<\/td>\n· Kyoto Higashiyama “Hanatoro” Lightup Event<\/a>\n· Kyoto Higashiyama “Hanatoro” Lightup Event, Part II<\/a>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/table>\n\n

The gentleman in the shot below set up shop beside me, and we chatted\nfor a while.<\/span> I offered<\/span> suggestions on exposure, and he got some results\nthat he was happy with, but I think<\/span> he arrived a few<\/span> minutes too late.\nThere was a very<\/span> short sweet spot when the light was just right... perhaps\nfor just 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 2 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

My cold seems to be coming back with a vengeance,<\/span> so perhaps I should<\/span> lay low for a while,<\/span> but if I can,<\/span> I'll try to go out tomorrow evening as well.<\/p>\n\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n